


Burdens

by Taliana



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 12:19:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5869213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taliana/pseuds/Taliana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erwin carries so many burdens on his shoulders, and Levi doesn't know how the man is still standing tall and strong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Burdens

**Author's Note:**

> Set (loosely) after chapter 50 of the manga. It has been quite literally about 8 years since I shared any fanfic, so please be gentle ;~;

Levi isn’t sure what wakes him. Perhaps it’s the way the mattress dips as Erwin moves. Perhaps it’s the sound the older man makes as he hunches over, fingers clutching at a limb that’s no longer there as the pain rips through him, still too raw, too fresh. Perhaps it’s only chance that he wakes at all. He lies there in silence, eyes fixed on the broad expanse of Erwin’s shoulders, the man a dark silhouette against the moonlight that streams in through open curtains.

Erwin carries so much on those shoulders. They’re bowed now beneath a burden that’s more tangible in some ways than the others he carries, and yet still one that he’s forced to bear alone. Levi doesn’t know how Erwin hasn’t broken yet, how he still seems to stand taller and stronger than any of the walls that surround the city.

Sometimes, Levi is sure that even if Mitras itself lies in ruins around them, Erwin will still be left standing. An indestructible fortress in a world where nothing ever seems to last.

“Shall I fetch the doctor?” Levi doesn’t ask if Erwin’s okay, or if he’s in pain. He already knows the answer.

“No.” Erwin’s voice is taut, and something deep inside Levi’s chest twists at the way it resonates.

Levi watches Erwin fumble with one hand for his jar of pills, struggling with shaking fingers. He doesn’t offer to help. Erwin is a grown man, a soldier, and Levi won’t insult his pride by treating him like a child; or worse yet, an invalid.

The bed creaks as he moves to sit behind the older man. Levi’s fingers, steady and sure, trace patterns against soft skin. There is an invisible map on Erwin’s back, one that only Levi can see. It is a map of where it all began, and with his fingers he maps again the twisting turns and narrow alleys of the Underground. Here, his home with Farlan. Here, where they learned how to use the 3DMG. Here, where Isabel had set a lost bird free, and they had watched it spread its wings and soar up into a world they had long dreamed of.

He can feel the tension in Erwin’s muscles, the fevered heat that burns in him. When he traces the winding path of one of the Stairways with his lips, he can taste the sheen of sweat. Up and up it goes, becoming the Walls as he scales across Erwin’s shoulder blades, along his neck, lips mapping skyward while his fingers spiral back down into the depths of the Underground, teasing against Erwin’s hips. It’s only then that Levi feels Erwin relax, some of that heavy weight settling back against him.

“Do you think anyone would believe me if I told them your bedside manner was rather good?”

Levi doesn’t need to see Erwin’s face to know that the grimace has been replaced with a soft smile. He hides his own behind Erwin’s ear.

“If you spread that sort of rumour about me, I’ll slit your throat and pass it off as an unfortunate shaving accident.”

Erwin laughs at that, and Levi shivers, not sure if it’s from the sound of Erwin chuckling, or the way strong fingers rake through his hair. “Don’t worry, Levi. I’ll protect your reputation.”

Levi feels his own invisible burden settle once more upon his shoulders. Words hang heavy and unsaid between them. When Erwin takes his hand and presses kisses against his knuckles, each one in turn, Levi feels as though he’s standing on the highest point of the Wall, stripped of his manoeuvre gear, with nothing between him and the sheerest of drops. It’s as terrifying as it is exhilarating.

It’s not until Erwin turns, capturing his lips, that Levi remembers to breathe again.

When Erwin lays him down, he stares up at the ceiling, wondering if Erwin’s lips are tracing an invisible map of their own across his chest. He tries to redraw in his mind each kiss, each stroke of Erwin’s fingers, each flick of his tongue. The lines are hazy and wavering, and when Erwin’s mouth closes hot and wet around hard flesh the lines melt away into a burning need. Levi clutches at handfuls of blond hair, thrusting up with ever shortening breaths as sure fingers and soft lips slowly wear away at his self-control.

His eyes are still fixed on the ceiling, the steady gaze broken only by Erwin’s face moving into view above him. He used to turn away when Erwin was above him. He would hide his face against his arm, eyes closed, unsure of what Erwin might see written across his face, but knowing that whatever it was, Erwin would be able to read it.

It is a habit that Erwin has long since coaxed him out of, but for some reason tonight Levi finds himself draping his arm across his face, hiding away his expression as Erwin enters him. Erwin lets him hide this time. His other hand reaches blindly for Erwin’s hip, gripping tightly as he meets the man thrust for thrust. The sound of their short breaths, the soft moans, the way the bed creaks beneath them - it all blurs together into a haze of pleasure, bodies melding seamlessly together, and when Levi finally uncovers his face and opens his eyes, he finds Erwin looking down at him, ready with a smile.

He’s beautiful, and it’s breathtaking.

Levi doesn’t last much longer, and when he comes it’s with a soft cry that’s muffled against the back of his hand. He bites at his knuckles as he watches Erwin, the man’s brow furrowing and his eyes closing as he gives a final, shuddering thrust.

His heart is still racing as they slowly pull apart. Erwin stretches out on his back, and Levi nestles against him, his head on Erwin’s chest. Neither man speaks, content to simply lie together like this. It’s only once sleep has claimed Erwin that Levi raises his head, watching him sleep. He looks so carefree like this, while Levi feels his own cares looming in the darkness. Maybe Erwin is unbreakable. Maybe he isn’t. Levi can do nothing more than pray he never has to find out which it is.


End file.
